The largest commercial egg farm in Kazakhstan near the regional capital of Almaty recorded flock mortality of 30 percent among 645,000 hens within a few days.  The complex is presumed to be a remnant from the centrally-planned Russian model and was evidently operated with inadequate biosecurity. 

The farm is located in close proximity to a broiler complex producing almost half of the Nation’s chicken meat.  Without knowledge of common services including feed supply and other resources, it is impossible to speculate on the probability of the infection emerging in the broiler complex.  Proximity is however consistent with aerogenous dissemination of virus.  The strain of avian influenza has not been disclosed but it is presumed to be H5N8 that is emerging as the principal pathogen in Asia and Europe in late 2020.

The USAPEEC Monday Line on November 9th noted that Kazakhstan produces 60 percent of poultry consumed in the Nation with the remainder imported.  The U.S. exports approximately 140,000 metric tons of leg quarters to Kazakhstan annually. In the event of an extensive outbreak, Kazakhstan will have to source broiler meat from available suppliers including the U.S., the Ukraine and Russia.